House committee rejects late filing of anti-bump stocks bill

October 19, 2017

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire House committee has rejected the late filing of a bill that would have banned so-called “bump stocks” like the ones used by the Las Vegas gunman to mimic the action of fully automatic guns.

Democratic Rep. Steve Shurtleff, of Concord, proposed the bill to ban the devices that helped Stephen Paddock kill 58 and wound hundreds in Las Vegas. He sought permission to introduce it, even though the Sept. 22 deadline already had passed.

The Republican-majority committee defeated the proposal Wednesday 6-3, meaning the bill must now be filed in the Senate. It has a Nov. 2 deadline.

Bump stocks are an attachment used on semi-automatic rifles. The device essentially transforms a normal rifle into the equivalent of a fully automatic machine gun. They are currently legal in all states except California.